Wireless subscriber devices are widely used and have become an essential aspect of modern life. Wireless subscriber devices such as pagers, mobile phones, PDA's (personal data assistants) are used for work, for personal activities, and as a way to keep in contact with friends and family. As the functionality of these devices increases, their use and acceptance continues to expand. Further, users have become more reliant upon their wireless devices, and therefore demand high quality service and performance.
The quality of service provided by these wireless devices depends in part on the transmission characteristics of the wireless networks they access. The wireless network and its associated infrastructure may determine, for example, the channel transmission speed, power, or number of time slots allocated to any particular subscriber unit. In this way, some remote devices may have communication channel access that provides an exceptional quality of service, while others may be assigned channel access that provides a disappointing or even unacceptable level of service. Users have an expectation that the wireless networks they connect to will allow them to access the functionality of their wireless devices without excessive delays, interruptions, or compromised quality of service. In the current competitive market of wireless network providers, a company's reputation and brand is mostly determined by the quality of service that the network provides to wireless devices.
Some wireless devices allow multiple users to share a single network connection. For example, a wireless router device may allow multiple users to access a shared wireless data connection. Such a device may have a wireless data modem or other network-enabled device to establish a data or voice connection to the network. Multiple users are also connected to the wireless router, and each user is able to share the network connection. The multiple users may connect to the wireless router using a cable connection, or in some cases, may connect through local wireless communication. Currently, even if a wireless router device is capable of enabling multiple users, the device is typically treated as a single user by the wireless network. The network does not take into account that the device is requesting resources on behalf of multiple users. Accordingly, with multiple active users sharing a single device, each user receives only a fraction of the network resources that a user with a direct network connection receives. In some cases, this sharing of resources may lead to an undesirable experience for the users sharing the network connection through the router.
Unfortunately, the known process for allocating network resources to wireless devices that can support multiple users leads to an unsatisfactory user experience. Users sharing a network connection are far more likely to experience slow service and interruptions in service than users with their own network connection. If service from a particular network provider is poor, it is likely that users will switch wireless network providers. Therefore, wireless network providers have a need for an improved system and method for enabling and performing scheduling for wireless devices supporting multiple users.